I conducted the first self-defense session in a community park in October 2018. Back then, I had no idea if this community led intervention would become FightHer. Behind every story there’s an inspiration! In the case of FightHer, my inspiration was Tanu, an 8-year old girl whose mother works as a domestic worker in my residential neighbourhood.
It was a bright Sunday morning on the day I conducted the first community self-defense session in my residential area. Tanu was studying in the park, waiting for her mother to get free from work so that they could walk back home together. As soon as she spotted the session, she came and requested me if she could join the session. She had a unique spark in her eyes which spoke about her dreams and aspirations as she shared her reason for joining the session.
“My mother doesn’t let me go to school alone when she is busy because it’s not safe. She says there are people who might harm me. Can I join the class so that I can go to school regularly and learn how to protect myself?” – Tanu
Having grown up in an area which is both unkempt and unsafe, Tanu’s mother feared sending her alone to school. The fear is justified! But should this fear diminish the sparkle Tanu had in her eyes? Should this fear make her feel less confident and suppress her dreams and aspirations of carving a niche for herself in this world?
Just when I was winding up the first self-defense community session, Tanu followed me to my home and said, “The day my mom asks me to quit school, I am going to come here and ring your doorbell, Will you help me convince my mom? I really want to learn as much as I can.”
It was the sparkle in Tanu’s eyes that motivated me to start FightHer. Starting FightHer wasn’t intentional because I had no idea, knowledge, skills and resources to start my non-profit. All I had was my will power and belief. One day the world will be safe for girls and women from all sections of the society!
There was an inspiration for me at every step. I conducted the first community led self-defense session when I heard two domestic workers talking about how unsafe it was for them to work odd hours and return home from work. They felt unsafe not just while travelling but also inside their household premises as most of them resided in unsafe localities. The next inspiration was Tanu, who motivated me to get FightHer officially registered.
From getting a CA to do the registration to looking for self-defense trainers who valued the cause over monetary benefits, the journey was full of roadblocks but each time a class participant said, “Thank you, FightHer for teaching me how to protect myself and for boosting my self-confidence,” my confidence to keep the initiative going kept building up.
(A special thanks to my friend from Asian College of Journalism, Aditi Maithreya for bringing my imagination to reality by creating this heartfelt mascot for FightHer. She is an excellent artist and we are extremely grateful to her for her contribution.)
FightHer 